A dispatch from Muzaffarabad

Where the Pakistani army first took care of its own

Khaleeq Kiani of Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper reports from the scene in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

There is practically no government in Muzaffarabad at the moment. Itâ€™s complete chaos everywhere. Roads to and from the town are closed, except the one linking it with Islamabad through Abbottabad. People were walking on foot from the capital to Lohargali, about 10km towards Mansehra, to find safe places.

There was no electricity supply till Sunday. Some telephone lines are now working, but sporadically. Those with their own vehicles were moving out of the capital through the Abbotabad road but otherwise fuel was not available. Some people helped themselves to take petrol and diesel from petrol pumps to leave the city on Sunday night.

Military helicopters are mostly bringing back their own injured and dead colleagues and a limited number of civilians. Almost all the military personnel stationed at Muzaffarabadâ€™s Shaukat Lane have either died or been seriously injured. [Khaleeq Kiani/Dawn]